Conversion Bureau: Strange Tides And Stranger Friends
by Lord of the Saiyans
Summary: When Equstria emerges on a new world, Princess Celestia does not expect to meet much opposition. She choose her world well, or so she thinks. But all does not go to plan when a strange force begins to counter her barrier and before she knows it, Princess Celestia finds herself face to face with what will ether be her greatest ally or or worst enemy.


_And it started as such a good day, too. _ Celestia thought to herself. It truly had; the transport spell had been nigh perfect. The Barrier created and expanding rapidly. The humans had been caught flat-footed, but she didn't think that would last for long. No, such a blood-thirsty species would surely be on the warpath as soon as their feeble minds could grasp just what she had set in motion.

Let them come. None would break the barrier and soon they would all be converted. It was only a pity that they resisted her kindness, but then she supposed she could expect little else. They would thank her in he end.

But then, things had taken a bad turn. The Barrier had been blunted, almost broken by a great surge of force; magic but not magic. It was almost like it had been crashed into a rival barrier of equal power and strength! It ground against this opposite force, the effort sending sparks flying for miles and causing Celestia herself quite the headache – both metaphorical and literal.

As the twin barriers fought against each other, she decided that she was going to investigate personally. Pausing only to bark some orders at Luna and gather a core of guards, she set out for where the conflict was greatest. It was only a few minutes journey for one such as she, and when she arrived, she did so to find herself on the other side of the barrier.

And facing a great dome of power which rivalled her own. How this thing could come to be, she did not know. But she would soon...

"Spread out and search. Six of you stay with me and the rest split up and try to find what is causing this. Cities, machines, groups of humans. Anything like that. Humans don't have magic so this must be some form of science. " She paused for a second as she reached out with her own powers and gently touched the offending dome. " This thing isn't dangerous to us... it doesn't seem to be able to harm anypony." Actually, that was quite curious. Despite the force it was exerting against her barrier, it wasn't harming anyone or anything else. One might almost think it had been tailored...

As the guards did what she had told them, Celestia formed a jabbing probe with her own power. Her horn shone like a newborn sun as she struck at the bubble of not-magic. The thin skin of the construct was no much for her experience and power and soon, she had infiltrated it.

Interesting... As she thought, this rival force was not quite magic. But it shared similarities, it was a natural product, it was produced by a single being and it was certainly not human. It felt almost like a high-powered version of a unicorn's telekinesis. But she quickly dismissed that thought on the grounds that no pony, not even herself, was that powerful with that specific skill.

Slowly, she began to widen her probe. Instead of merely sensing the configuration of the barrier, she now could ''see'' in a sense. She could see the mind behind it right away. He glowed like a small sun surrounded by hazy not-magic. He didn't seem to be trying to focus on her, instead diverting all his power into the counter-barrier.

Perhaps she could strike at him now. It would have been safer and perhaps it would even have brought her victory. But too long as the undisputed master of her realm had dulled Celestia's instincts. Not by much, but by enough.

Instead, she reached out with her thoughts. Building a bridge between the two of them so as to reach deeper into his thoughts.

He reacted. He did so instantly and far more efficiently than she had expected. Two things happened. Firstly, he severed the bridge effortlessly. While she was still reeling from the psychic shock of that, he took his counter-barrier and re-purposed it.

Into an explosion.

The shock-wave of not-magic was enough to incarcerate everything for miles around. Celestia only managed to summon a shield of light to guard herself by luck and instinct. Even then, the sheer force of the sudden attack hit her like a kick to the face. For the first time in a long time, Princess Celestia of the Sun was being pushed to her limit. Fire streamed along the ground and the shockwave began to push her back despite her efforts.

Around her, her guards were dying. At least it was fast; each one only felt the briefest second of agony as their bodies were crushed by the force and sent flying, like so much detritus, back into her own barrier.

Their deaths enraged her. No one harmed her subjects! Gathering her strength, she lashed out with a whip of psychic might. Enough to send any mortal reeling in agony and to shred the mind of anyone unskilled enough. No one but Luna or herself would be able to resist such an attack, but this one did. He deftly met her whip with a metaphorical arm and yanked it hard. This caused her to suffer a sudden, splitting agony and her shield began to crack and to weaken.

But not for nothing was Princess Celestia considered the more powerful of her family, and quickly formulated a new plan. She untethered her shield and let the force blow her back into the barrier. Into _her _barrier. Once that was done, and she had clashed with the slowly expanding walls. Next, she began to syphon power from her surroundings. The Barrier weakened and began to slow, but Celestia's reserves of power supercharged.

She lashed with a second whip, the air around her seemed to crackle and spit, even though it was a purely magical attack. This time, the foe was not prepared and she felt the hot flash of agony across his mind.

Good. _Good. _ She would show him for killing her subjects!

A searing blast of light from her horn fractured the shield he had formed about himself and finally brought his explosive counter-force to an end.

The shock-wave died down abruptly, the natural order of things reasserting itself. The ground had been gauged raw, there was not a spot of grass or life for miles. Somehow, her barrier had held and she was now thankful that it was so powerful.

Despite the power of her last attack, the other was still alive and mostly unharmed. But she now had the advantage and she intended to use it.

"You!" She snarled. "Who are you to attack the Royal. Guard? What purpose do you have impeding my barrier? You are no human, what stake do you have in defending them?"

He was certainly not human; even if she never met him face to face she would know that. His mind felt different...sharper and somehow both old and new. His powers felt ancient, like her own. But the body and mind that wielded them felt like a foal. And yet, he obviously was intelligent and competent with his powers.

She looked up at him. He was floating now, in the centre of where his barrier had been. He was the size of a human male, and roughly the same shape as one. His body was, however, smoother, perhaps a bit more elegant. He was covered in soft, short fur of a light colour and from his rear, there extended a flexible looking tail of dark purple. His hands each had three fingers, and his head was vastly oversized compared to the rest of his body. It all combined to make him look vaguely feline.

He raised his large head and looked her in the eyes, she felt a shuffling in her mind, he was trying to read her! She slammed down mental doors around the intrusion and had to admit to a certain amount of satisfaction at the annoyed look on his face. He was unwilling, or unable, to push his probe further so instead he let it fade and instead addressed her directly.

**I am the master of this world you seek to claim. Your shield was expanding towards my base, I sought to stop it. **

He spoke in a mental voice, more akin to a command than a speech. And yet, she easily resisted it and doubted he even noticed the effects it would have on the weak-minded.

"You say sought." She pointed out idly, wondering if she could perhaps make an ally in this situation. The deaths of her ponies still burned in her mind, but she knew full well the brutality of mankind. If this one had lived on their world for so long, perhaps it was understandable that he learned to strike first and ask questions later.

Not to mention the great power that he had. He had been able to rival her! Something only Luna could currently boast of doing.

**I no longer need do that. Your kind are no threat to me. I saw in your mind only you and a few others are so powerful and your barrier would be easily broken. And besides, you are not the ones I hate. **

She wanted to say that he was boasting, but she knew how easily he had been stalling it before she arrived. Celestia made a mental note to reinforce it once she got the chance. She would brook no one with more power over it than herself.

"Is that so?" She said aloud. "And who are the ones you hate? " Though the answer was pretty obvious from the ''taste'' of the thoughts that made up the word.

**Humans. ** The being spoke. **I despise them. They have enslaved my kind to do their bidding, and even attempted to do the same to me. However, I was...more powerful than they had expected. I shall not allow their kind to exist on my new world. I will create a paradise for my kind, and exclude all those who would go against my will. **

Celestia was grinning. She couldn't help it.

"Perhaps I can make a suggestion then." She said. "My name is Princess Celestia of Equstria and I would _love _to discuss certain terms with you. But before that, I would like to extend an official invitation to my palace and my land, where we can talk in comfort."

**Perhaps... **The other said, feeling her elation in the same way she had felt his rage. **Your thoughts intrigue me in this matter. I shall accompany you, but do not waste my time.**

"That won't happen." Celestia smiled. " I think that this meeting will be a very good thing. For both of us. But before we go, my ponies need to know who to welcome. What is your name?"

**That remains to me seen. As for my name, those who created me called me... Mewtwo.**

Celestia's smile didn't waver.

This was going to be a _very _good day.

Meanwhile, in a certain courtyard of a certain palace there was a certain statue of a certain being. Frozen in stone forever by the Elements of Harmony. Or that was the plan, at least. Things hadn't been too harmonious of late.

But still, the binding held. Even as the being known as Discord watched with curious eyes. Poor, poor Celly. He thought to himself. So far gone and yet unable to see it. He wondered what her student thought of her actions, but supposed he would never know.

It was at this point that he felt a disturbance in the air and a small, pink bubble appeared from out of nowhere. It popped and there emerged a most curious creature. It was feline-looking, with a long tail, wide eyes and short arms. Despite its lack of wings, it easily held itself in the air. Its eyes passed over each statue in turn and it began to play. He observed it, not like he could do anything else. It was having fun, messing around in the garden up until it came to his statue.

It paused. It looked at him, Not the statue, but _him. _ It knew he was here. It cocked its head to the side as though confused.

"Mew?"

It would be several hours before anyone noticed the disappearance of Discord's statue.


End file.
